Professor Peterson publishes new research in collaboration with HCMC

Jillian Peterson, Director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center, recently published a study in the journal Injury Prevention with colleagues from Hennepin County Medical Center. The researchers combined data from a Twin Cities trauma registry with homicide records to better understand the connection between violent injuries and later homicide involvement. The study found that 1 in 50 patients admitted to the HCMC trauma center for a violent injury later appeared in homicide records, either as a victim or a perpetrator. Patients with a prior trauma admission had 16.5 times greater odds of later involvement in a homicide, with firearm injuries posing the highest risk. The researchers also found that 31% of individuals later involved in a homicide had previously been hospitalized for a violent injury. The findings suggest that hospital-based violence intervention programs could play an important role in reducing future homicides by identifying and supporting high-risk patients early. Read the full article here - Prior violent injury and subsequent homicide involvement: Evidence from a linked trauma registry study Dr. Peterson and Dr. Lumbard also discussed the findings on Minnesota Public Radio – Listen here